A Christmas Story is a good movie, but there is one thing that drives me cuckoo. The mom's hair. The movie is set in the late 40s/early 50s. Women didn't have hairstyles like that. The movie does a great job of reconstructing that time.
But seriously, they couldn't change out her 80's hair?
Most people don't think about the director or the camera work. But I've always had an interest in that, so I probably pay a little more attention to that kind of stuff. And in the case of this game, the game was not the only story. An equal story is the pain and misery Cubs fans have had for all these years. And the director and the camera folks really found those people in the stands and their emotion. Young/old, men/women, didn't matter. The smiles and nerves of the fans were as fun to watch as the game.
The original top notch sports director was Chet Forte, the first director for Monday Night Football in its heyday. That guy was ahead of his time in game presentation.
And last night, that game showed why sports is the best TV property there is. It is unscripted, and you never know what is going to happen. So while not a Cub fan, I really enjoyed watching the game and the Cubs fans last night.
I bought the tickets about 5 months prior to the trip. About a month out, I decided to buy the Economy Plus add-ons. I first bought it on my outbound flight from Des Moines to Chicago. It was an extra $42 for that segment on a 737. 45 minutes in the air from DSM to ORD, so no problem to sit that long. But I had a 1.5 hour connect, but I really wanted to make sure I made my connection, so Economy Plus got me on the front of economy, and an extra 5 inches (I think) of leg room. So would I do it again on that segement? If Chicago was my final destination, no way. For a short flight like that, at 5'10" I could handle a regular economy seat like that with no problem. But in my case, the extra $42 was worth it, to know it would buy me a couple extra minutes to get to my connecting gate.
On the flight to/from Brussels from Chicago, it was around $170 extra each way. To me, that is a noticeable extra amount of cash, especially when buying upgrades for my wife and I. The advantage of getting on or off the plane sooner was not an issue in this case. It basically came down to an advantage of having an extra 3" on the 777. Also, the gamble of my wife and I having a 3 seat section for the 2 of us. I'd been watching the flights to/from Brussels, and at united.com, you can see the taken seats on a given flight. And I had noticed that Economy Plus seats on the Brussels flight frequently was way less than full. So I was also hoping that nobody would take that 3rd seat by us. (as an aside, the Boeing 777, in economy, has a 3-3-3 layout for seats).
I thought it was going to pay off on the flight to Brussels. Pretty much everybody was on the plane, and no more passengers were getting on, and nobody was sitting next to Vicki. Joy went to despair when a lady holding about a 1.5 year old baby started walking down our aisle, and she stopped at our seat. Shit! The last thing I want is a lap baby next to us for the next 7.5 hours.
Then the grandma showed up, and they called a flight attendant, because they thought they were in our seats. After much rigamarole, the flight attendants asked a guy sitting by himself in a row behind us, if he would move next to Vicki, and the mom, baby, and grandma could go back there. Fortunately the dude agreed (probably so he wouldn't be by the baby), and we had a decent flight. The extra 3 inches bought us some extra leg crossing.
The flight home was full, so no empty seat next to us this time either. So the question is, would I again spend an extra $680 total for my wife and I, to each have an extra 3 inches of legroom for a total of 16 hours in a plane seat? Initial thought? Yes, I would. Since I'm an Economics major, I'll break it down with a math equation. Between my wife and I, we had 32 person-hours in that seat for $680. That is paying $21 an hour for that extra 3". That is a little more painful with that factoid. We probably could have used the $680 for back massages and physical helps.
My wife and I are both 5'10", so we fit into economy seats ok. If it was my 6'4" son, I'm sure it would definitely be worth it.
Here are two pics I took. One is the leg room by itself. And then a pic with my magazine pushed up against the seat in front of me, and where it is in my lap. As a reminder, I'm 5"10.
As for my United experience overall, I know they are one of the lower rated airlines. But for me, it went about as smooth as possible. Flights on time. And I know people like to bag on airline food, but I thought it was pretty good. Hot and tasty. Free beer on the international flights. Bags arrived quickly and undamaged. Only minor complaint is that the flight attendants on ORD/BRU were a bit surly and seemed like old bags that were easily annoyed. But on the way back, they were typically older flight attendants, but they seemed happy and ready to help customers.
Well The Rocket is done, I'm not going back to the Herald, so this fall I go back to being simply a Norsemen fan. Here's a pic of Paul and I ready to call a game from the new pressbox.
The thing is, when reading Tom's list, I kinda just have to trust him on it, and can't argue it. I think high school sports has a limited viewpoint. I think people seem to pay more attention when their kids are in school, but don't really follow it as closely any other time. And while I lived here in 2000 for example, I don't know that I went to a Norsemen basketball game that year. So in my case, most readers will probably go, "Who was that?" for at least a few of the guys.
But I'm gonna do it anyway. Some guys are clear to me. But that is easy in the skill positions, because they have the stats in the paper each week. I'm also not going to name anybody two ways. And the spot where I struggle the most is the interior of the defensive line. I have nobody in mind for those spots. I have some potential names, but they will be going on the offensive line. And then for the picks. Some guys played on great teams, and some guys played on some bad teams. I tried to take in consideration of likely success no matter the year they had played. Also a note, for any player, I will put their graduation class after them, but remember, their senior football season would have been the year before. So if I say Thor Svensen (2008), that means his senior football campaign was in the fall of 2007.
So let's get started.....
My first draft pick regardless of position is Sam Hammes (2006). Sam ran for almost 1500 yards in the fall of 2005, and had a career per carry average of almost 7.7 yards. Just a beast running the ball for the Norse.
Now that the top pick is in, let's go over to the defense first, because, as they say, defense wins championships. Of course, depending on the opponent, is what kind of defense you might run. But I'm going to go with a 4-4-3 base package. So let's start up front first. Two come to mind right away. At defensive end, I'm going with Nolan Rasmussen (2009) and Brandon Morgan (2011). These guys were quick and strong off the end. Brandon had his career cut short due to concussions, but both are worthy.
For noseguard/nose tackle I have some guys in mind, but I'm going to put them on the offensive line, so scratch them. This position is difficult, because they don't get a lot of big stats as the linebackers do all the cleaning up. But I'm going to go with Garrett Schubert (2008) and Westin Barnes (2006) to plug up the front.
Switching to linebacker, there are a lot of good options. Some played hybrid positions, "Monster" being one of the well known name from years past. But I'm going to lump them all together with 4 linebacker positions. Cole Billerbeck (2009) comes to mind first. And he'd probably be my #2 overall draft pick, if I was doing that. A combined 290 tackles between his Junior and Senior years, and just always seemed to be getting up off the pile. Next I'm going with a guy I only saw for one year, Nick Handeland (2005). He was the District Defensive MVP. Enough said. Justin Doolittle (2008) was a 3 year starter with 240 career tackles. I'm struggling with who to go with my 4th linebacker. Because the 3 others are solid on the interior, I'm gonna go with a little more speed on the outside, and use him as a partial cover guy, and that is Josiah Soderstrum (2015).
Switching to the D-backs, a lot of good choices there. We've had 7 1st team All-District selections here in my timeframe. At the corner position, one guy comes to mind right away. He was a 1st team All-District pick. He wasn't that big, but his wrestling toughness really helped him, and that is Dan Brodie (2007). For the other corner, I'm going with somebody who seemed to be a good cover guy, and that is Jordan Sheahan (2005). At safety, this may be my toughest pick out of two guys in my entire list. So I'm gonna mention them both. Zeb Hammes (2009)did a great job at covering people, and was always there to clean up. But he is not my pick. I'm gonna go with Tyler Hovick (2016). The Norse have not had a harder hitting safety in my years covering the team. Fun to watch him crack the opponent pads. Unfortunately, he didn't play on the best defensive teams, so he got in on a lot of tackles too, leading the team in the fall of 2015, which is not a good thing for a safety.
Time to head over to the offense. Much of my time covering the team, the Norse ran a wishbone offense. And in my all-timer team, if I ran that, I'd need 3 running backs. I like the 'Bone, but with the guys I have, I'm gonna have a pro set offense, so 2 running backs, 2 wide outs, and a tight end. Also, the wishbone meant an option quarterback. The guy I am picking at quarterback, I would not choose for running the option tho. If I were, the aforementioned Zeb Hammes would be my pick, but again, he ends up as the runner-up at a position. My starting quarterback is Evan Johnson (2013). Johnson didn't throw a lot. But when he did, he was very efficient. A starter for a year and a half, 60% completion rate, even career TDs vs interceptions (which is rare at R-S). My team needs a good game manager, so Evan's my guy. Roland-Story's Trent Dilfer.
In the backfield, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, is my first overall pick, Sam Hammes (2005). He's Roland-Story's 5th all-time leading rusher, and has the highest per carry average of any back with at least 100 carries. There are a lot of good choices for the 2nd running back slot. And a lot of guys in the career rushing top 10. I'm gonna go with Darren Johnson (2008). He has the 3rd most rushing yards of any Norsemen ever, and was tearing up the field starting in his sophomore year. Definitely had the quicks and was a 3 time 2nd team All-District rusher.
Switching to the wide receiver spot, I'm first going with Ryan Skaar (2013). He was more known for his basketball exploits, but he could jump and had good hands to catch the ball. He's 4th all time for the Norse in career receptions and receiving yards. And for my next slot, I'm biased, but with that said, I'm going with Jerald Fritz (2015). Jerald had his 6'4" height and speed to cause opposing defenses to change up to cover him, especially against smaller defensive backs. Other than Skaar, he had the single best receiving season during my time covering the Norse. Here's Brett Staton (2017) to Fritz for a long completion called back for a penalty, and then on the next play, the same play call, and the longest pass completion in Norsemen history.
Going to tight end, I'm going with Jacob Rathmacher (2009). Not to beat on the coaching staff, but he gets the award, in my opinion, for most under utilized player I have seen for the Norse. He was tall, big, and strong, but we rarely passed to him. Even so, he still did a nice job blocking up front.
As for the big uglies up front, here's my 5. Logan Voga (2006), Ben Whaley (2006), Bret Johnson (2011), Xavier Drake(2011), Nick Ahrens (2014). Voga was the best of the bunch, IMO, a 3 year starter, and 2 year 1st team All-District pick. Bret Johnson was my next pick, a 2 time 1st Teamer. Zippy Drake was always solid and Nick Ahrens gets in based on his senior campaign. He had a really nice senior year leading the line.
Of course we need special teams too. For a kick returner, I'm going with Bryttan Thompson (2011). 28 yard average for his career and 32 yard average his senior year. State Track sprinter speed. Bryce Sampson (2009) is my punt returner. Most punts returned out of anyone I've seen with a healthy 10 yard average
Punter is close. Gunder Howe (2016) and Bryce Holdridge (2009) both punted for 3 years, are 1/2 in R-S career punting average with Gunder having a career average of 8 inches (yes inches) more than Bryce. But I'm going to take Bryce as my punter. Bryce was a bit more consistent, so the old guy gets the nod.
Kicker is another close one. I have been witness to the golden years of Norsemen kicking. In the entire history of Roland-Story Norsemen football, there have been only 28 made field goals. And I have seen 21 of them.
I didn't necessarily layout the stats for other positions, but this one is really interesting. It is 3 guys that are neck and neck and neck. Gunnar Wyatt (2009), Charlie Steenhagen (2013) and Gunder Howe (2016). Career kickoff average is Steenhagen 47.63 yards, Wyatt 45.84, and Howe 45.71. Career made field goals: Steenhagen 8, Howe 7, Wyatt 6. Career PAT % Wyatt 84.7, Howe 84.2, Steenhagen 77.5. Longest career field goal: Wyatt 42, Steenhagen 38, Howe 38. I'm a stats guy, and I think a case could be made for any of them. But I've come this far, so I gotta make a pick. I'm just gonna go with my gut, and take Gunnar Wyatt as my kicker.
So there ya' have it. There are some guys I covered that are still playing, that I think could bump onto the list, if they have nice Senior years this year. But since my era ended with last fall, they hadn't shown enough to get onto the list yet. So hopefully the Norse have a nice year this year, and make some good memories.
So who did I miss? Who do you disagree with? I'd like to hear what you think, so leave a comment.
So what's the new count? We don't know yet. They are leaving it up to each member state to determine their own pitch count rules. That will certainly be interesting to administer. Will they put the game pitch count in Quikstats? I think they will need to. Will there be 1/2 inning pitch comparisons between opposing teams? I suppose so.
Little League has been doing it for awhile. Some mom or dad volunteers to keep pitch count, and then each half inning, they go find the other team's pitch count mom or dad, and make sure all is well. Will it become some sophomore sitting on the bench? I imagine so.
I'm guessing Iowa will come up with a number around 120 pitches a day. In Little League, 9-10 years olds can pitch a max of 75 a day. 11-12 year olds can pitch a max of 85, 13-14s can go 95, 15-16s can go 105, and I don't remember their 17-18 division. (Currently North Story Little League doesn't have any 15-18 year old teams, but they are chartered under Little League. So if the age increase is the same, the 17-18s would be 115, and that's why I'm guessing they will up it to 120 a day--with rest periods at different pitch counts.
Fun stuff. If you want to read the press release, it is RIGHT HERE.
In summary, the pitching limitation rule is nine innings on any given day, followed with two calendar days rest. If a pitcher pitches more than four innings, up to a maximum of nine innings, on any two consecutive calendar days, he will follow with two calendar days rest. The maximum number of innings a pitcher may pitch in a week is 16.
NOTE: As part of the pitching limitation rule, one pitch constitutes an inning having been pitched.
EXAMPLES: a) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Monday. How many days rest are required? Two calendar days rest, meaning Tuesday and Wednesday; he may next pitch on Thursday.
b) A pitcher pitches four innings Monday. How many innings can he pitch on Tuesday? He may pitch the maximum of five innings on Tuesday followed by two calendar days rest, meaning Wednesday and Thursday. He may next pitch on Friday.
c) A pitcher pitches three innings Tuesday, two innings Wednesday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest (Thursday and Friday). He can next pitch on Saturday.
d) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Saturday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest (Sunday and Monday). He can next pitch on Tuesday.
e) A pitcher pitches seven innings on Tuesday. When can he pitch again? He can pitch on Wednesday for the maximum of two innings. He must then follow with two calendar days rest, meaning Thursday and Friday. He may next pitch on Saturday.
f) A pitcher pitches two innings Thursday and five innings on Friday. He will now follow with two calendar days of rest (Saturday and Sunday). He can next pitch on Monday. Remember, pitching in any combination of innings greater than four innings up to the maximum of nine innings on any two consecutive days will result in two calendar days rest; OR pitching the maximum of nine innings in any one day requires two calendar days rest.
g) A pitcher pitches two innings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Legal: He has pitched 12 of his allowable 16 innings for that week.
h) A pitcher pitches one inning Tuesday and eight innings Wednesday. Legal and he will follow with two calendar days of rest, meaning Thursday and Friday. He can next pitch on Saturday.
i) A pitcher pitches eight innings on Monday; does not pitch on Tuesday, however, does pitch on Wednesday. How many can he pitch on Wednesday? He can pitch the maximum of eight innings on Wednesday because those eight innings, added to the eight innings he pitched Monday, give him his maximum of 16 innings for the week. Had he only pitched seven innings on Monday, he could have pitched the maximum nine innings on Wednesday and reached his maximum 16 for the week.
j) A pitcher pitches six innings Wednesday; does not pitch Thursday, but does pitch on Friday. How many innings can he pitch on Friday? He can pitch a maximum of nine innings, which would give him a total of 15 innings for the week.
k) A game begins Tuesday, July 25, at 10:45 p.m. and is completed at 12:35 a.m. the following morning. The starting pitcher pitches; (a) 7 innings; (b) 9 innings. Under the IHSAA pitching rule, the game would be considered played July 25th, even though the game did not end until early the following morning. In (a) the pitcher would be able to pitch 2 innings on Wednesday, those 2 innings combined with the 7 innings pitched on Tuesday make 9 innings pitched on two consecutive days. The pitcher would now have to take two consecutive calendar days off, Thursday and Friday. He may pitch again on Saturday. In (b), the pitcher would have to take two consecutive calendar days off, meaning Wednesday and Thursday. He could pitch Friday. This is all providing he does not exceed 16 innings in a week and stays within the prescribed guidelines (Sunday through Saturday).
l) A pitcher pitches 7 innings on Friday and 2 innings on Saturday, the pitcher must follow with two calendar days of rest, meaning Sunday and Monday. He may next pitch on Tuesday. The confusion with a few coaches was that Saturday ended the week by reference, and with that in mind they thought this individual could pitch again on Monday. The rule is for the safety of the individual and when two calendar days of rest are required, the pitcher is unable to pitch again until day three when category B of the pitching rule applies.
Other ads typically had celebrities, in a polar bear outfit. Like this one. Here's The Four Tops.
So anyway, I was having an 80s themed party, and wanted some Sun Country Wine Cooler. So I wanted to make my own. I found some recipes on the net. Tried 'em, didn't like 'em. One of them was to use pinot grigio wine. Don't! Tasted like crap.
Try this for a sampler to see if you like it. I had several people at my party say they really liked it. So stay to the same ratios if you want a bigger batch, but make yourself a glass first to try:
4 oz. Welch's Orange/Pineapple/Apple Juice Cocktail
4 oz. Pink Moscato wine. (though any Moscato would probably work)
6 oz. Ginger Ale
I thought it had the right amount of fizzy, fruity, winey.
